**📅 Date:** ➤ ⌈[[2025-01-24-Fri〚Edgar Adrian - Frequency Coding in Neural Transmission 〛]]⌋ **🗺️ Site**： **👤 Who**： #🌏/🇬🇧 **📌 Time**: #🕛 - Edgar Adrian won the **1932 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine** for his work on **nerve impulses and neural transmission**. **💭 Note:** ➤ 频率编码与神经适应：理解神经系统的信息传递方式 ➤ Instead of shouting louder, neurons **increase the repetition of signals**. ➤ Neurons **reduce their firing rate over time** when exposed to a constant stimulus. (Relative differences) ➤ Modern **neural networks** in AI **mimic frequency-based coding** to process information efficiently >[!question] **Can we reprogram ourselves not by force, but by consistently changing the signals we send to our brain—rewiring our identity through repetition, just as the brain encodes reality through frequency?** #👾/Question ⇩ 🅻🅸🅽🅺🆂 ⇩ **🏷️ Tags**: #🧠/Neuro-Science **🗂 Menu**: ⌈[[✢ M O C ➣ 01 ⌈J A N - 2 0 2 5⌉ ✢|2025-J A N-MOC]]⌋ --- ![[Mindmap-Edgar Adrian & Frequency Coding in Neural Transmission.png]] --- ### 1. Edgar Adrian  His Groundbreaking Discovery:  **Neurons encode stimulus intensity not by the strength of their signals, but by their firing frequency**  ![[Edgar Adriand.png|#left|400]] --- ### 2. Frequency Coding in Neural Transmission (神经传导的频率编码) **Key Discovery: Frequency, Not Strength (核心发现：频率，而非信号强度)** • **Neurons fire action potentials (nerve signals) at the same intensity, regardless of stimulus strength**. • The **only difference** is **how often** they fire—**stronger stimuli cause neurons to fire at higher frequencies**. • This is **similar to Morse code**—instead of shouting louder, neurons **increase the repetition of signals**. #### Why Does the Brain Use Frequency Instead of Signal Strength? (为什么神经系统使用频率而不是信号强度？) #### ✅ **Energy Efficiency (能量效率)**: • If neurons encoded intensity using stronger signals, they would **consume too much energy**. • Using **frequency modulation** allows neurons to function **efficiently** without excessive energy consumption. #### ✅ **More Accurate Processing (更精准的处理机制)**: • Neurons can detect even **subtle differences** in stimuli by adjusting frequency. • This ensures **greater sensitivity and adaptability**. #### ✅ **Overcoming Biological Limits (克服生物学限制)**: • The nervous system has **physical limits** on signal strength. • Frequency coding allows **a wider range of stimuli to be encoded** using a **finite number of signal types**. --- ### 3. Neural Adaptation: Why Perception is Relative (神经适应：为什么感知是相对的？) #### The Adaptation Phenomenon (适应现象) - Neurons **reduce their firing rate over time** when exposed to a constant stimulus. - This is why **we stop noticing background noise, smells, or constant pressure on the skin**. - **Example**: - When entering a bright room from a dark one, at first, the light feels too intense, but over time, the neurons **adjust** their response. #### Relative Perception: ##### Why “Brightness” is a Moving Target (相对感知：为什么“亮度”是相对的？) • If neurons encoded absolute brightness, our brains would **struggle to adapt to different environments**. • Instead, the brain **adjusts** its interpretation based on **relative differences**. • **Example**: • Indoors, 300 Hz firing rate signals **“very bright”**. • Outdoors, 300 Hz firing rate **might only indicate a normal brightness level**, since the sun is 100 times brighter than indoor light. --- ### 3. Practical Implications of Adrian’s Discovery #### 💡 Information Processing & Perception (信息处理与感知) - The nervous system processes **relative changes** rather than absolute values. - This is why **we adapt to new environments quickly**, whether it’s adjusting to **temperature, brightness, or noise levels**. #### 💡 Neuroscience & Artificial Intelligence (神经科学与人工智能) - Modern **neural networks** in AI **mimic frequency-based coding** to process information efficiently. - **Pattern recognition** and **adaptive learning** in AI take inspiration from this principle. #### 💡 Sensory Adaptation in Everyday Life (日常生活中的感官适应) - **Example**: - After wearing perfume, you stop noticing its scent after a few minutes. - A fan’s noise seems loud at first, but eventually fades into the background. --- ### Key ✅ **Neurons encode stimulus intensity using frequency, not signal strength**—more intense stimuli result in higher firing rates. ✅ **This method ensures energy efficiency, adaptability, and a wide range of perception**. ✅ **The brain constantly adjusts perception based on relative changes, leading to sensory adaptation**. ✅ **These discoveries influence modern neuroscience, AI, and everyday experiences of perception**. --- >[!info] #👾/Comment >This makes me think about our **repeating daily “signals”**—the thoughts we cycle through about who we are. Just like the brain encodes information through frequency rather than signal strength, our sense of self is reinforced by **what we repeatedly tell ourselves**. The more a belief is replayed, the stronger the neural pathway becomes, making it harder to change our perspective. > >If change isn’t about the intensity of a single realization but the quiet persistence of new signals, **how can we consciously reshape our internal narrative—not by force, but by consistency?** And if we change the signals we send ourselves every day, over time, **do we fundamentally become a different person—one rewired, re-coded? How much of who we are is simply a result of repetition, and can we truly reprogram ourselves?**